Books

So, I have consumed a few more books, and they were, on balance, pretty good. Here they are:

Who's Looking Out for You – Bill O'Reilly

So, the general thesis of this book is that some people in this world have your best interest at heart, and others don’t. Once you figure out who is who, you will be a lot better off. Then, O'Reilly talks about all the people who are NOT looking out for anyone. It is a very political book, and many would call it biased (mainly those who don’t agree, and who are, in my opinion, to a large degree, wrong). It was very good, and I think very true. There are so many people out there who do not know who is looking out for them, and they try to rely on those people who are not looking out for them, they marry them, and they get disappointed. This book had a strong message of personal independence and responsibility, something that I am very into and that I see disappearing as we grow increasingly dependant upon others to solve our problems (most of which we create for ourselves through our own stupidity).

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

This was an interesting book. It is by a British nanny who basically just talks about how to care for a baby. Since most of her advice is for newborns, it is a little untimely, but, it was interesting. She had a lot of very crazy ideas, but, it was interesting. Since I listened to the book, I can now talk to Jacob, and we have some interesting conversations.

Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts

This was a very, very good book about the women who were around during the Revolutionary war and those times. It was well written about amazing women. It struck me very, very hard many, many times how dependant any civilization is upon strong women. It reminded me of the very strong, very intelligent, and very hard working women in my life, namely my wife and my mother. When I was listening to the book, there were many amazingly good quotes that I determined would be in this post, but since then, I have forgotten them. However, the book made it clear that without these women, the revolution would not have happened. Several of the most important men depended so heavily upon their wives, it was interesting to learn about it. It reminds me of Rocky, where he cant win unless Adrian is supporting him.

It is so true; in the end, I could not do anything if Stacey did not support me. I have friends who are not fulfilling their dreams because their wives are not willing to sacrifice for it. I am so grateful for a wife who supports me, and is ready and anxious for 5 more years of poverty while I continue with my schooling. I think so many women don't get greatness out of their husbands because they don’t allow it.

The Mormon Way of Doing Business

The Marriott School gave all graduates this book, and while I despise the title, it was a good book. It is about several famous Mormon CEOs and business people, and just talks about them and their careers and the things they do in common. It is based on extensive interviewing, and in general, is good. It sat a little uneasy with me when several of the people talked about making time for your family even though you work literally 80 hours a week and are on the road half the days of the year.

While I am sure they did their best, thinking about that made me grateful for a father (who was and is, by the way, the CEO of the largest revenue producing institution and the second largest employer in the city where I hail from) who did not work so much, and who was available any time, for as much time as I needed, throughout my life. I can honestly not remember a time when my dad could not do something or was not at something because of his work. These CEOs in the book talked about the importance of making time to go to soccer games and such, and I just thought of the importance of just being there at home, sitting around and chatting.

In any event, it was a good book, and interesting to hear about these CEOs. Two more interesting things. Two of them were not CEOs, but famous business professors at business schools. Since it is my intention to be a professor at a business school, it was interesting to read about them.

Lastly, two of the CEOs were within a block of the towers in NY when they fell. One was the CEO of an airline when it happened. It told the story of the three on that day, and it was very interesting.